(1) Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to faucet attachments, more particularly to faucet attachments that extend the flow of water to within arms' reach for those who otherwise would not be able to or would have difficulty to be able to access the flowing water.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Hygiene plays an important role in leading a healthy lifestyle, thus habits like washing hands on a regular basis play a large role in everyday life. It follows then that people need to access running water from a sink. However, young children, people with disabilities, people with dwarfism, people with physical ailments (i.e., back pain, joint pain, nerve pain/damage), and others may have difficulties with reaching running water from a faucet.
As a result, children and other such individuals need assistance for washing hands. Parents typically hoist children up to reach the running water; however, this runs the risk of a parent losing his/her grip and dropping the child or some adults may be unavailable or unable to assist. Others have the additional task to first climb up onto a stool; yet, stools are of varying heights and individuals may still have difficulties reaching for not being tall enough—not to mention, stools may be quite expensive. Furthermore, there is the danger of slipping or falling from the stool, and incurring injury and pain.
Additionally, there are products on the market adapted to attach to an existing faucet for extending the faucet water flow; however, none are entirely satisfactory. Some of the products are bulky and involve complex extension parts and screws. For instance, existing parts of a faucet fixture may have to be removed before installing an attachment device. Even more, other products involve the arduous and oftentimes more costly task of removing and replacing an entire faucet fixture. Even more, some faucet attachment products may be hard to clean and/or risk bacteria and mildew build-up.
Perhaps most importantly, such products are typically adapted specifically for attachment to conventional/standard faucet spigots. Thus, users having kitchens and bathrooms equipped with uniquely shaped faucet fixtures/spigot designs are left with the alternative, potentially riskier options to reach the running water. In addition, for some such as children, the faucet extending feature may only be needed for a short period of time, so convenient attachment and removal would be preferred. Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a faucet attachment that caters to the range of abovementioned needs.
There are also known faucet extenders with only one rear-facing opening for receiving the faucet spigot. These types of faucet extenders, however, do not cater to certain types of faucet spigot shapes and angles. Therefore, there remains to be a need for a faucet extender that can universally fit over a large variety of faucet spigot shapes and angles.
All referenced patents, applications and literatures are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply. The invention may seek to satisfy one or more of the above-mentioned desires. Although the present invention may obviate one or more of the above-mentioned desires, it should be understood that some aspects of the invention might not necessarily obviate them.